A young woman whose arms and legs 'ballooned' due to an incurable illness has appealed for help to cover the cost of liposuction.

Danielle Brown suffers from a rare and painful condition called lipoedema which is thought to be caused by hormones and leads to parts of the body becoming enlarged.

The 26-year-old has been told that she will be left unable to walk and end up in a wheelchair if her body keeps putting on weight.

Danielle - who has been called cruel names by bullies unaware of her condition - is now trying to raise £19,000 to pay for three operations that are not available on the NHS, the Coventry Telegraph reports.

The Sainsbury's worker, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, told how she gained weight despite going on a diet and working out at the gym.

Danielle pictured before she was diagnosed with lipoedema (Image: BPM Media)

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She said: "Months went by and I was eating well and going to the gym but I wasn’t losing any weight, I was still putting weight on.”

Her arms and legs continued to grow and she eventually learned she was suffering from a very serious medical condition.

Danielle said: "I struggle to walk now, I struggle to get out of the bath, it’s completely upsetting, you don’t realise how much it changes you, you think I will just go and have a bath but now I have to think who is there to help me get out.

"It’s just life changing. It’s really bad, the pain is horrendous. In the morning, my partner gets me out of bed in the morning, he helps me walk, I use crutches for around the house."

Danielle was only diagnosed a year ago after being misdiagnosed with something else.

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To reduce the buildup of the fatty tissue associated with lipoedema, Danielle needs to have liposuction but that is not available on the NHS.

She is therefore working to raise £19,000 to fund three operations, which she is due to have done privately.

Danielle said: “They said if it keeps growing I will end up in a wheelchair, the consultant was shocked that I’m not already.

“Generally it takes eight years for it to grow to this size but it took about four to five years for me

“It’s just a case of getting these operations then there’s a 99.9 per cent chance it will not come back.

“I am scared, I am petrified, but it’s something I have got to do.”

Due to her condition she has had to change her lifestyle, as it is very difficult for her to stand up once she sits down.

She said: “When I get going I am alright on my own and I will go to work but I have to be careful, I usually don’t take my hour dinner breaks as I cannot sit down for an hour, I won’t be able to get back up.